If the reopening date is postponed, many beer kegs would have to be collected for “recycling, repurposing or destruction”, says Drinks Ireland.
An estimated 70,000 kegs of beer – equating to around six million pints – that were brewed to restock hospitality outlets ahead of the return of indoor services on 5 July are “at risk”, according to industry body Drinks Ireland.
While 5 July was the date on which indoor service at pubs and restaurants was set to resume, the emergence of the Delta variant of Covid-19 has led to fears that the return could be postponed.
Government ministers have stated that a final decision on the matter will be made on Friday, 2 July, though brewers are calling for “immediate” clarity on the matter as its nationwide beer delivery operations are already underway.
In a statement on Friday, Drinks Ireland said that any delay with the return of indoor hospitality with “very little notice” would have “extensive cost implications for the beer sector” and “would be devastating to the 3,500 pubs that have yet to open”.
According to the industry body, the sector has been cleaning draught lines in pubs ahead of 5 July, which takes four weeks to carry out to cover the 7,000 pubs of Ireland.
Drinks Ireland said it had covered the 3,500 venues with outdoor spaces and was working through the additional 3,500.
It also stated that a lead-in time of at least five weeks is required to brew and deliver beer to pubs nationwide and that as stouts and certain ales have a short shelf life, many kegs would have to be “collected for recycling, repurposing or destruction” if the return of indoor hospitality was pushed back.
Head of Beer at Drinks Ireland Jonathan McDade said: “The yo-yo approach last year, which saw pubs open and close either nationally or regionally five times with very little notice, was logistically challenging and had massive financial consequences for brewers.
“This is something we expressed to government time and time again, and something we hoped would never happen again.
“With the 5 July date set, the sector finally had some clarity, and indeed notice, to brew beer, deliver kegs and clean lines.
“We are calling on Government to consider the significant financial and economic consequences of delaying the reopening of pubs when making its decision.
“A significant amount of work has gone into brewing, beer line cleaning in pubs and deliveries to outlets over the past few weeks.
“All this work is jeopardised unless brewers get crystal clear clarity urgently from government on whether the 5 July reopening is going ahead. If there is going to be a delay, we need a firm commitment on a new reopening date.”
The Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Licensed Vintners Association and the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland have also urged the government to make a decision before 2 July on the return of indoor service.
This is in order to give them enough time to prepare for whatever outcome of the decision.
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